System for Distributing Advertisements to Multiple Locations

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for distributing an advertisement are provided. In one embodiment, an advertisement distribution device comprises a database manager configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from a database. The advertisement is selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run. The advertisement distribution device further comprises an interface device configured to transmit the advertisement to a ticket printing device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/555,842, filed on Nov. 4, 2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, and entitled, “System for Creating an Advertisement Strategy,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. This application is also related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed on ______, titled, “System for Printing an Advertisement on a Ticket,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to advertising, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for distributing advertisements to a number of locations.

BACKGROUND

For years, businesses have created advertisements to endorse their products, brands, etc. Normally, these advertisements can be presented to an audience in a number of ways. For example, some advertisements may be presented in printed form and published in newspapers, magazines, flyers, etc. Other advertisements may be presented in audible form, such as those communicated over the radio. Still others may include both visual and audible elements, such as those that are commonly presented on television or on a computer. Regarding printed advertisements, some businesses, such as restaurants, may choose to advertise by printing coupons. These coupons can be combined with other coupons from other businesses in coupon books, printed in newspapers and magazines, or printed on individual cards or flyers. Despite the numerous ways that a business may advertise, businesses are continually looking for new ways to distribute advertisements and coupons to their audience.

Also, businesses usually attempt to present their advertisements in a way that will reach the type of audience that they intend to target. For example, businesses may wish to purchase television advertisement slots to show commercials to an audience that may be more likely to buy their products or patronize their establishments. The advertisements can then more sharply focus on viewers who might have more of a tendency to watch the associated television programs. This can be done to expose the intended audience with their advertisements. It would be desirable for a business, however, to have greater flexibility in advertising to be able to target their audience so that advertisements can reach the people that may be more likely to use their products or visit their establishments.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes various implementations of systems and methods for distributing advertisements to a number of locations. According to one implementation, an advertisement distributing device, as described in the present disclosure, includes a database manager configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from a database, the advertisement being selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run. The advertisement distributing device also includes an interface device configured to transmit the advertisement to a ticket printing device.

The present disclosure also describes a system, which comprises an advertisement distribution device configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from a database. The advertisement is selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run. The advertisement distribution device is further configured to retrieve the selected advertisement from the database and transmit the advertisement to a ticket printing device. The system may also comprise a print verification device configured to receive a confirmation from the ticket printing device when the advertisement is printed.

The present disclosure also describes a method, which comprises the step of retrieving an advertisement strategy from a database. The advertisement strategy includes at least an advertisement, a run time parameter indicating a time period when the advertisement is to be run, and a location parameter indicating at least a first remote device where the advertisement is to be run. The method also comprises the step of transmitting the advertisement strategy to the first remote device with instructions to run the advertisement during the time period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features illustrated in the following figures are intended to emphasize the general principles of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. Consistent reference characters are used throughout the figures to designate corresponding features.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional ticket distribution system.

FIGS. 2A-2D are block diagrams showing advertisement systems according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams showing more advertisement systems according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an advertisement managing system according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data table related to printing devices, according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data table related to advertisement information, according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the advertisement distribution device shown in FIG. 4, according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the print confirmation device shown in FIG. 4, according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for creating an advertisement strategy, which may include not only the advertisement itself, but also time and location information for specifying when and where the advertisement is to be run. However, rather than using conventional means of presenting an advertisement to an audience, the advertisements according to various implementations of the present disclosure may be printed on any suitable type of ticket, such as a movie ticket, sporting event ticket, concert ticket, theater ticket, lottery ticket, rapid transit ticket, train ticket, airline ticket, or ticket for other events or purposes. In particular, the implementations disclosed herein may be combined with a lottery system, whereas an advertisement can be printed on a lottery ticket that is distributed to a person purchasing the lottery ticket. In particular, lottery tickets (and other types of tickets) represent a unique purchase in that they are printed for an individual at a known location and time. Unlike coupons that might normally get thrown away or ignored, the lottery ticket is usually held by the purchaser and read multiple times during the short lifespan of the ticket.

Using the implementations described in the present disclosure, an advertiser can create one or more advertisement strategies using a process involving online systems. The advertisements can then be distributed to ticket printing devices to be printed for individuals who wish to purchase some type of ticket. The regular ticket information is printed on the ticket along with the advertisement, and the ticket can be handed to the customer. With the example of lottery tickets, the advertisement can be printed on the same ticket that includes the lottery numbers. By allowing the advertisers to choose where the advertisements are printed, the advertisements can be distributed to people who might live or work in a specific area (e.g., near a particular restaurant). For example, lottery ticket printing devices, sometimes referred to as point-of-sale (POS) lottery machines, are usually housed in known, fixed locations, such as in convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and other venues.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional ticket distribution system 10. As shown, the ticket distribution system 10 includes a ticket managing server 12 and a plurality of ticket printing devices 14, where the ticket managing server 12 communicates with the ticket printing devices 14 via a private network 16. The ticket managing server 12 may store ticket information in a database 18. In some embodiments, the ticket printing devices 14 do not communicate with each other, but only communicate with the ticket managing server 12. The ticket distribution system 10 may be a closed system that would normally not operate over the Internet. For security purposes, the private network 16 is normally inaccessible to devices outside the ticket distribution system 10.

In some embodiments, the ticket distribution system 10 is a lottery system that manages and controls the distribution and printing of lottery tickets. The ticket managing server 12 may include one or more computers for a state lottery system or may be the main computer(s) for a lottery system that extends into multiple states, such as the Mega Millions and Power Ball lottery systems. The ticket printing devices 14 may represent the point-of sale (POS) lottery machines where a customer can purchase a lottery ticket. In other embodiments, the ticket distribution system 10 may be related to a system for distributing and printing other types of tickets, such as movie tickets, concert tickets, airline tickets, etc.

When a customer wishes to purchase a lottery ticket (e.g., a ticket for Mega Millions, Power Ball, Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Win For Life, or other lottery game), the ticket printing device 14 prints out the lottery ticket with a certain number of lottery numbers. These lottery numbers may be selected by the customer or may be randomly selected. When random numbers are selected, the ticket distribution system 10 may include two different scenarios for picking the random numbers. In one embodiment, the ticket managing server 12 may be informed by a particular ticket printing device 14 that numbers are to be selected and will then pick random numbers (e.g., using a random number generator) and supply these numbers to the particular ticket printing device 14. In another embodiment, the ticket printing device 14 itself may be configured to randomly pick numbers if the device is equipped with a random number generator. Once the numbers are picked, the ticket printing device 14 can print the lottery ticket.

When the ticket printing device 14 selects the random numbers (or if the numbers are selected by the customer), the lottery numbers are communicated to the ticket managing server 12 in order that the ticket managing server 12 can store information about the lottery ticket sold, such as the lottery numbers on the ticket, the time and date when the ticket was sold, and the location where the ticket was sold (i.e., an establishment that houses the ticket printing device 14). If the ticket managing server 12 picks the random numbers, the ticket managing server 12 stores the same information about the lottery ticket sold (i.e., the lottery numbers, time, date, and location information). This information can be stored in the database 18.

According to some reports, the sale of lottery tickets in the United States exceeded $50 billion in 2011, which is about $200 per capita. Also, there were over 200,000 lottery ticket printing devices 14 operating in the U.S. in 2011, and the number of devices continues to rise. From this information, it can be determined that a typical ticket printing device 14 may print over 200,000 tickets per year, or more than about 20 per hour.

FIGS. 2A through 2D are block diagrams illustrating various embodiments of advertisement systems according to various implementations of the present disclosure. The advertisement systems of FIGS. 2A-2D include advertisement distribution systems combined with ticket distribution systems. The advertisement distribution systems can be incorporated with any type of ticket distribution system that includes printing facilities located in specific locations where an advertisement can be printed on any suitable medium. In some embodiments, the ticket distribution systems are lottery systems. The ticket printing devices 34 in these embodiments may be configured to print any type of tickets, depending on the type of system in which they are deployed. For example, in a sporting event ticket printing system, the ticket printing devices 34 may be configured to print tickets for a particular sporting event. The printed tickets may include lottery tickets, movie tickets, concert tickets, sporting event tickets, rapid transit tickets, airline tickets, or other types of tickets. In some embodiments, the ticket printing devices 34 may alternatively be configured to print other types of items (e.g., pamphlets, brochures, flyers, newspapers, magazines, etc.).

The advertisement systems of FIGS. 2A-2D may represent a system that is configured for a single state (e.g., Georgia), multiple states, a country, multiple countries, or other geographical or political regions. For example, when configured with a lottery system, one advertisement system may be located in each state, and communication may take place between systems of other states, particularly for interstate lottery games (e.g., Mega Millions, Power Ball, etc.).

It should be noted that each advertisement system of FIGS. 2A-2D may include security measures that are incorporated throughout the respective system. Thus, when an advertisement is created, security elements are added. Also, when advertisements are distributed to the ticket printing devices 34, the security elements can be verified to ensure that the advertisements are authentic. Furthermore, when an advertisement is printed, the ticket printing devices 34 may also check the security elements. The security elements may include encoding/decoding protocols, encryption/decryption protocols, or other protocols that are known by some or all of the components (e.g., the ticket managing server 32, ticket printing devices 34, and advertisement managing system 40) of the systems of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the components of the systems may utilize code characters, passwords, or other codes that are configured to change in a certain way. For example, a code number may increase by a certain value on a regular basis (e.g., every day). Also, the components of the systems may be configured to use and check for certain advertisement characteristics to ensure security. For example, these advertisement characteristics may include a specific size of an image of the advertisement, a specific type of file, a file naming convention, a specific number of dots per inch (dpi) for the advertisements, or other characteristics.

The advertisement systems of FIGS. 2A-2D may allow an advertiser to promote local events, drive business to a particular store, promote band affinity with local organizations (e.g., local sports teams), promote special events (e.g., sporting events, fairs, festivals, etc.), and even raise money for charity. The advertisement systems allow advertisers to easily target specific areas. Also, advertisers can run advertisements at specific times, depending on local events or other occurrences that may have a limited duration (e.g., a fair or circus in a local area, etc.).

As opposed to a system that includes an advertisement for one advertiser that is printed on all tickets in a batch, the advertisement systems of the present disclosure enable multiple advertisers to advertise as many advertisements as they wish and have the advertisements targeted at only certain locations. In this regard, the present disclosure provides a variable system that can select from among a plurality of advertisements, depending on various parameters. Also, the advertisements can be printed on a ticket, as opposed to other media, which may normally be maintained more carefully by its holder than a typical coupon. Therefore, it may be more likely that the holder will view the advertisement more often.

FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of an advertisement system 30. In this embodiment, the advertisement system 30 includes a ticket managing server 32, ticket printing devices 34, a private network 36 interconnecting the ticket managing server 32 with the ticket printing devices 34, an advertisement managing system 40, user devices 42, and a second network 44 interconnecting the advertisement managing system 40 with the user devices 42. Although not shown, the ticket printing devices 34 may, according to some implementations, be connected to the network 44. As shown, the private network 36 and second network 44 are separate from each other.

The advertisement system 30 may be incorporated into an already existing ticket distribution system that includes, for example, the ticket managing server 32, ticket printing devices 34, and private network 36. These elements may be similar to the corresponding elements shown in FIG. 1. However, according to the embodiments described in the present disclosure, the ticket distribution system portion of the advertisement system 30 not only prints tickets and records information about the tickets, but also may be configured to alter the tickets, such as by creating a space or place holder that allows one or more advertisements to also be printed on the ticket. Advertisements that are created by the advertisement managing system 40 may be stored in a database or other memory device. According to various embodiments, one or more databases or memory devices may be connected to the ticket managing server 32, the advertisement managing system 40, and/or the ticket printing devices 34. Then, when a ticket is to be printed, an advertisement is retrieved from the database and printed along with the ticket information.

Regarding the aspect of creating an advertisement or planning an advertisement strategy, the advertisement system 30 uses the advertisement managing system 40. The advertisement managing system 40 is configured to communicate with one or more user devices 42 via the network 44. According to some embodiments, the network 44 may be a local area network (LAN) and/or a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet. The network 44 may include wired and/or wireless components. In some embodiments, the network 44 may be omitted altogether such that communication between the user devices 42 and the advertisement managing system 40 involves physically delivering a data storage device (e.g., CD, flash drive, or other portable storage device) from one device to the other.

When the network 44 is configured for local communication, the user devices 42 may represent terminals used by people who are associated with the advertisement managing system 40 for inputting advertisement orders for various clients. In other embodiments, the user devices 42 may represent computers or other processing devices connected to the advertisement managing system 40 via the Internet, where these user devices 42 are used by advertisers who wish to create an advertisement online. In this respect, the advertisement managing system 40 may include a web server for providing a website where users can create one or more advertisements and/or plan advertisement strategies or campaigns.

The ticket distribution portion and advertisement portion are combined in the embodiment of FIG. 2A by a bridge 46, which may include a permanent or removable conductor connecting the ticket managing server 32 with the advertisement managing system 40. The bridge 46 may include USB connections, a dedicated conductor, a Secure Shell (SSH) connection, or other suitable connectivity between the various servers. The servers may be synchronized using an SSH protocol. In some embodiments, the bridge 46 may be replaced with an indirect connection, such as providing information on a memory device (e.g., CD, flash drive, etc.) and physically transferring information from one device to the other. In some embodiments, the ticket managing server 32 and advertisement managing system 40 may communicate using a third network on which only these two systems communicate.

Regardless of the manner in which the devices are connected, the advertisement managing system 40 communicates advertisements and associated information to the ticket managing server 32 to enable printing of the advertisements on tickets according to specific instructions. Also, the ticket managing server 32 communicates information back to the advertisement managing system 40 providing verification that all or some of the advertisements to be printed have indeed been printed. The verification information may include advertisement information (which advertisement(s) were printed), the time and date when the advertisement(s) were printed on the tickets, when the ticket was handed to a customer, and the locations where the advertisement(s) were printed. Ticket information does not normally need to be supplied to the advertisement portion of the advertisement system 30. Therefore, the bridge 46 may provide secure communication and may prevent the user devices 42 or other components of the advertising portion of the system 30 from communicating with or hacking into the ticket managing server 32.

Communication between the ticket distribution portion of the advertisement system 30 and the advertisement portion of the advertisement system 30 may be made on a limited basis. For example, advertisements may be communicated to the ticket portion on an hourly basis, daily basis, weekly basis, or other suitable time intervals. Also, confirmation of the printing of advertisements may be communicated back to the advertisement portion on an hourly, daily, weekly, or other timely basis. It should be noted that some or all of the features described herein with respect to FIG. 2A may also be applicable to FIGS. 2B-2D as well.

FIG. 2B is a second embodiment of an advertisement system 50. The advertisement system 50 in this embodiment is similar to the system 30 of FIG. 2A, except that the ticket managing server 32 and advertisement managing system 40 are combined into one server or computer system, labeled as a ticket/advertisement managing system 52. In some embodiments, the ticket managing server 32 shown in FIG. 2A may be modified to include the features of the advertisement managing system 40 to provide the ticket/advertisement managing system 52. The modified ticket server in this respect may include a second interface device to allow communication on the second network 44. According to some embodiments, the ticket/advertisement managing system 52 may include a switch (e.g., electrical, mechanical, or electromechanical switch) that enables the system 52 to operate as a ticket managing server at some times and to operate as an advertisement managing system at other times. The switch can also be used to switch between operating over the private network 36 at some times while operating on the second network 44 at other times.

FIG. 2C shows another embodiment of an advertisement system 60. In this embodiment, the bridge 46 shown in FIG. 2A is omitted and instead the advertisement managing system 40 is configured to connect to the private network 36 via a secure connector 62. The secure connector 62 may limit the operations of the advertisement managing system 40 within the private network 36. As such, the advertisement managing system 40 may provide advertisements to the ticket managing server 32 and/or ticket printing devices 34 and receive confirmation from the ticket printing devices 34 or ticket managing server 32 as to when and where the advertisements are printed.

FIG. 2D shows another embodiment of an advertisement system 70. In this embodiment, the bridge 46 shown in FIG. 2A is omitted and instead the ticket managing server 32 is configured to connect to the network 44 via a secure connector 72. The secure connector 72 may limit or restrict the access that the components on the network 44 may have with the ticket managing server 32. The ticket managing server 32 may retrieve advertisements from the advertisement managing system 40 via the network 44 and may provide confirmation information to the advertisement managing system 40, or even directly to the user devices 42. The confirmation information may be designed to confirm which advertisements have been printed, the time and date of printing, and the locations where they were printed.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams showing other embodiments of advertising systems according to the present disclosure. In these embodiments, in contrast to the embodiments of FIGS. 2A-2D that operate over two separate networks, the ticket distribution portions and advertisement portions exist together and operate over a common network. For example, the network in these embodiments may include a secure network. Since it may be much more expensive to operate on and maintain the private network 36, costs can be reduced by operating on a single network. Therefore, the advertisement systems of FIGS. 3A and 3B, which include both the ticket distribution portion and the advertisement portion, can operate on the Internet or other wide area network, which may be a less expensive alternative and save a large amount of money for the ticket distribution systems or state lottery systems. Additional security measures in this case may be added to prevent unauthorized access into the ticket distribution system (e.g., lottery system) via the Internet.

FIG. 3A shows an embodiment of an advertisement system 80, which includes a ticket/advertisement managing system 82, a plurality of ticket printing devices 84, and a plurality of user devices 86, interconnected by way of a network 88. The network 88 may include the Internet and may also include local or other wide area networks. In this embodiment, the ticket/advertisement managing system 82 communicates with the ticket printing devices 84 via the network 88. The ticket/advertisement managing system 82 in this embodiment may be configured to perform the ticket distribution functions and perform the advertisement functions as described in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the ticket/advertisement managing system 82 may be configured to communicate with the user devices 86 in a limited capacity. The user devices 86 may be used as mentioned above to create or plan an advertisement strategy. The user devices 86 may access the ticket/advertisement managing system 82 to perform the advertisement functions.

Information regarding the advertisement strategies that are created by the ticket/advertisement managing system 82 is configured to combine the advertisements, according to the advertisement strategies, with the ticket information (e.g., lottery numbers). The advertisement information and ticket information may be stored on separate databases or in the same database. The ticket/advertisement managing system 82 instructs the respective ticket printing devices 84 that when a ticket is to be printed, it is printed with the combination of a selected advertisement and ticket information on the ticket. The ticket/advertisement managing system 82 may also provide information about printed advertisements to the specific user devices 86 to inform the respective advertisers or agents associated with advertisers of the results of the advertisement strategies.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram of another advertisement system 100, which is similar to FIG. 3A. In this embodiment, however, the ticket managing server 102 and advertisement managing system 104 are individually configured as separate components on the network 88. In this way, it may be easier to separate the ticket distribution functions from the advertisement functions. Also, the ticket managing server 102 may be specifically configured to limit or restrict access by the user devices 86.

According to additional embodiments with respect to the present disclosure, the embodiments of FIGS. 2A-2D, 3A, and 3B may further include means for issuing mobile tickets, such as mobile lottery tickets or other types of mobile tickets. For example, in place of the ticket printing devices 34 and 84, a transmitter or wireless communication device may be employed using any suitable wireless protocol. The wireless communication device in this case may be configured to conduct the sale of virtual tickets to users of mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, tablets, laptop computers, or other mobile devices) and receive a fee for the sale of the virtual ticket.

In addition to ticket information that might normally be displayed on a display screen of the mobile device, the virtual tickets may also include an area for an advertisement. Therefore, when the ticket information is displayed, the advertisement may also be displayed on the same screen whenever the virtual ticket is shown. In some embodiments, the advertisement may be displayed on the screen independently of the display of the ticket information. For example, the advertisement may be flashed on the screen when the virtual ticket is first purchased or may be displayed at random or predetermined times after purchase.

Advertisements using the mobile device may allow the particular establishment to offer a unique advertisement to mobile device users. For example, in a restaurant environment, if a customer purchases a ticket (e.g., virtual lottery ticket), the same restaurant may utilize the advertisement systems of the present disclosure to send an ad to the customer while the customer is still on the premises. The advertisement in this case may include an instruction for the customer to “Call your waitress to find out about getting a dessert for half off” or some other type of message.

In addition to using mobile devices for receiving a virtual ticket, mobile devices may also be used in place of the user device 42, 86. Thus, the mobile device can communicated with the advertisement portion of the advertisement systems of FIGS. 2 and 3. Particularly, a user may wish to access the advertisement managing system 40, 104 via the network 44, 88 using the mobile device. In this example, the network 44, 88 may be configured to include cellular communication, Wi-Fi, or other wireless protocols. In this respect, the user may be enabled to create an advertisement and advertisement strategy using a smart phone or other mobile device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an advertisement managing system 120. For example, the advertisement managing system 120 may represent any of the advertisement managing systems 40, 104 and/or ticket/advertisement managing systems 52, 82 described above with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3. For the sake of clarity, when the advertisement managing system 120 represents the ticket/advertisement managing systems 52, 82, it should be noted that the portions of the system that relate to ticket management functions have been omitted. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the advertisement managing system 120 may be incorporated in the ticket managing server 32, 102 described above with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the advertisement managing system 120 includes an advertisement planning device 122, an advertisement verification device 124, a database 126, an advertisement distribution device 128, a print confirmation device 130, and a financial management device 132. The components of the advertisement managing system 120 may be configured in a single computer or may be configured in multiple computer systems and interconnected by a suitable network or bus interface. The computer(s) may include one or more processing devices, such as general-purpose or specific purpose processors or microcontrollers for controlling the operations and functions of the advertisement managing system 120.

The computer(s) may also include one or more memory devices, which may be configured as internally fixed storage units, removable storage units, and/or remotely accessible storage units, each including a tangible, non-transitory storage medium. The various storage units may include any combination of volatile memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), etc.) and non-volatile memory (e.g., read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, etc.). The storage units may be configured to store any combination of information, data, instructions, software code, etc.

In some embodiments, the components of the advertisement managing system 120 may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof. For example, portions of the advertisement managing system 120 that are implemented in software or firmware may be stored on a non-transitory memory device, such as a computer-readable media device, and may be executable by a suitable instruction execution system, such as a processing device. The portions implemented in hardware may include discrete logic circuitry, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combinations thereof.

The functions, operations, and/or programs executed by the advertisement managing system 120 may comprise an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions and can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by an instruction execution system or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-controlled system, etc. In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium can be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport programs for execution by the instruction execution system or device. Examples of computer-readable medium may include electronic, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, infrared, or other systems or devices.

As described in more detail below, the advertisement planning device 122 shown in FIG. 4 may be configured with the network 44, 88 and one or more user devices 42, 86 to enable a user associated with the user device 42, 86 to create an advertisement strategy. The advertisement strategy, for example, may include electronically arranged elements of an advertisement, a time period when the advertisement is to be run, and one or more predetermined locations where the advertisement is to be run. The user device 42, 86 is configured to communicate with the advertisement planning device 122 via the network 44, 88 to enable the user to create the advertisement strategy.

The advertisement managing system 120 further comprises the advertisement verification device 124, which may be in direct communication with the advertisement planning device 122. The advertisement verification device 124 is configured to automatically check for obscene or vulgar content in the advertisement. If any such content is found, the advertisement can be rejected. The automatic check may be performed by searching for profanity, certain obscene, vulgar, indecent, or morally questionable language in the text portions of the advertisement. The advertisement verification device 124 may also be configured to allow a person, such as an advertisement verifier, to visually check the content of the advertisement. This check may allow the person to prevent inappropriate content to be placed in the advertisements that might be displayed on the lottery ticket. For example, the visual check may include searching images and text for inappropriate content.

When an advertisement is created and verified, an advertisement strategy can also be created. The advertisement strategy may include, for example, the actual advertisement content (e.g., images and text), run times when the advertisement is to be revealed, and one or more locations where the advertisement is to be revealed. When completed, the advertisement strategies are stored in the database 126. The advertisement distribution device 128 accessed the database 126 in a controlled manner to retrieve advertisements from the database 126 and distribute them according to the time and location information. It may be preferable that advertisements to be revealed during a certain time period are bundled together and distributed to the ticket managing server 32 or individual ticket printing devices 34 before the actual run time so that the advertisements can be revealed at the proper times.

The print confirmation device 130 tracks the advertisements to confirm that the advertisements have been printed according to their associated time and location parameters. Also, if one or more of the ticket printing devices 34, 84 is saturated with advertisements, or, in other words, has more advertisements to print during a certain time period than actual lottery tickets that were printed during that time period, the print confirmation device 130 tracks how many of each of the advertisements were actually printed. The print confirmation device 130 may track information for the actual advertisements printed, the times and dates when they were printed, and the ticket printing devices 34, 84 that printed the advertisements (or establishment where the respective ticket printing device is located). The tracking information may be submitted to the financial management device 132 to calculate how much an advertiser might pay for the advertisements that were actually printed. The financial management device 132 may also be configured to charge an advertiser a certain fee, such as about $5.00, to submit an ad for confirmation, which will be checked by the advertisement verification device 124. The reason for charging this fee is that a person would normally be required to actually perform the visual confirmation of the ad. However, an additional fee would not be required if an ad is reused, as long as it is not edited to such an extent that another confirmation check is needed.

The advertisement planning device 122 may be further configured to introduce security elements to the advertisement strategies that are stored. These security elements can be used throughout the system to ensure that the advertisement information is communicated securely. The security elements are designed to prevent hackers from accessing the advertisements and introducing unauthorized content into the ads. The security elements also prevent other types of unfavorable intrusion into the system. The security elements may be added to the advertisement strategy information, filenames assigned to the advertisement strategies, or other files associated with the advertisement strategies.

FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of data that may be stored in a database. The table includes information regarding a number of printing devices, such as lottery ticket printing devices. For example, a state lottery system may include thousands of lottery ticket printing devices distributed throughout the state and may be located, for example, in gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, restaurants, or other locations. In order for the advertisement managing system 40, 104 (or ticket/advertisement managing system 52, 82) to communicate with these printing devices, the MAC address and/or IP address of each device is known. This information is entered in the table to enable proper communication. Also, the physical address (e.g., including the street number, city, and state) of the printing devices may also be stored. The physical address may be used, for example, when an advertiser wishes to determine the location of the printing devices to decide which printing devices are to print the advertisement.

It should also be noted that the MAC address and IP address of the advertisement distribution device 128 (or advertisement managing system 120) is provided to each of the printing devices (if they are configured to communication with the advertisement managing system 120). The MAC and IP addresses are also provided to the ticket managing server 32, 82. In this way, the other devices can use security checks to make sure information from the advertisement distribution device 128 is coming from an authentic device.

FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of other data, which in this example include data related to advertisements and advertisement strategies that have already been created and stored. The advertisements and advertisement strategies may be entered by the advertisement planning device 122. The advertisement data can be stored, for example, in a database that is accessible by the advertisement managing system 40, 104 (or ticket/advertisement managing system 52, 82) shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. When an advertisement is created, it is given an Advertisement Identification number (i.e., Ad Id No.). The ad is associated with a particular advertiser having a certain account number, which is also stored in the table.

In addition, the table shows that one or more images (e.g., graphics, logos, trademark images, etc.) may be inserted into an ad. The table includes at least one column for the images (e.g., Image #1), which includes a file name for the image and at least one column for code that defines the location of that image within an advertisement window. Also, the table may also include one or more text files and associated text location code for storing text (e.g., “Come visit Big Bob's Pizza”, “Half Off a Large Pizza”, etc.) and the location within the advertisement window where that text will be displayed. In some embodiments, the images and text elements may already be combined and finalized into a single image file that may be stored in the database.

The table of FIG. 6 also includes time information for defining a time period when the advertisement is to be revealed, printed, displayed, etc. The time information includes a Start Date, Start Time, End Date, and End Time. In some embodiments, the time period may be indefinite or ongoing. In this case, the start date and time may be entered as “0” and the end date and time may be entered as “9999” to indicate that the advertisement is to run on an ongoing basis. The advertisements may then be run when it is convenient, at random times, or as a default.

The table also includes a Quantity column for storing the requested number of times the advertisement is to be printed. This is entered by the user for the advertiser and may represent a maximum number of times that the advertisement is to be printed. In an alternative embodiment, the advertiser may instead choose a Quantity per Time parameter for ongoing advertisements to define how many times the advertisement is displayed during each particular time period (e.g., “200/wk”). The table also includes a Cost per Ad column to define an amount that the advertiser will pay for each time the advertisement is displayed. For example, if an advertiser wishes to have an advertisement printed 1000 times during a particular time period and the agreed upon cost is 25 cents per ad, and if it is confirmed that the advertisement is indeed printed 1000 times, then the advertiser will be billed $250.

According to some embodiments, the table of FIG. 6 may further include a location information column. This column includes information about the printing devices, such as those defined by the table of FIG. 5, and particularly identifies which of the printing devices where the advertisements are to be printed. The file may use certain codes to indicate a nationwide scope, statewide scope, or other regional scope. The information may be in the form of a file or may include a list the devices where the ads are to be printed. However, according to other embodiments, the table of FIG. 6 may represent only the advertisements that are to be printed on one single printing device, where, in this case, one table is created for each printing device. If this is the case, the location information column is not needed since the respective printing device for which the table is prepared is the only printing location of concern.

The table of FIG. 6 may also include a “Number of Ads Already Printed” column, which includes a running total of the times that each ad has already been printed. This can be updated on an ongoing basis. For example, the printing devices may provide feedback information about the advertisements that were printed during a previous time period. Updates may be provided back to the database on an hourly basis, daily basis, weekly basis, or according to other time schedules. Also, another column of the table (i.e., “Number of Ads Left to be Printed”) includes a running total of the ads yet to be printed. This may simply be the difference between the Quantity (i.e., number of times the advertiser wishes to have the ad printed) and the Number of Ads Already Printed.

According to some embodiments, the table of FIG. 6 may also include columns related to a coupon that is part of the advertisement. In this case, the coupon may have a redemption start date indicating a time after which the coupon is valid, and, as is more common, an expiration date (or Coupon Redemption End Date) indicating a time after which the coupon is no longer valid.

Referring again to FIG. 4, when advertisements and advertisement strategies are created by the advertisement planning device 122, the information is stored in the database 126. The database 126 may contain the information described with respect to the tables of FIGS. 5 and 6 and may additionally store other information as needed. In this way, advertisement strategies may be created, updated, modified, and stored. When this information is stored, the advertisement distribution device 128 is configured to access the database 126 to properly distribute the advertisement to the ticket printing devices 34, 84, either directly as per FIGS. 2B, 2C, 3A, or 3B or indirectly via the ticket managing server 32, 102, as per FIGS. 2A or 2D.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the advertisement distribution device 128 shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the advertisement distribution device 128 comprises a processing device 150, a database manager 152, an interface device 156, an image combiner 158, a memory 160, and a security/identification module 162. The processing device 150 may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers for controlling the operations of the advertisement distribution device 128.

The database manager 152 is configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from the database 126. The advertisement, for example, may be selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run. The database manager 152 may then be configured to retrieve the selected advertisement from the database 126 for advertisements that may have a run time period that is approaching or is already in progress. The interface device 156 may be configured to transmit the advertisement to the specific ticket printing device 34, 84. In some embodiments, the interface device 156 may be configured to transmit the advertisement to the ticket managing server 32, 102, which then may be configured to further transmit the advertisement to the ticket printing device 34, 84 via the private network 36.

According to some embodiments, the interface device 156 may also be configured to receive ticket information (e.g., lottery ticket information, such as lottery numbers and other information to be printed on the lottery portion of the ticket). This ticket information is related to the information that might normally be printed on a ticket. The ticket information does not necessarily have to be lottery ticket information, but may be used with other ticket printing devices that may be configured to print movie tickets, theater tickets, concert tickets, sports event tickets, or other types of tickets. It is intended that the ticket information and advertisement are to be printed on a single ticket, such that the ticket information (e.g., lottery ticket information) is to be printed on one portion (e.g., top, bottom, or side) of the ticket, while the advertisement is to be printed on the other portion (e.g., bottom, top, or other side) of the ticket. The image combiner 158 is configured to combine the ticket information and advertisement into a single image, which may be stored as an image file in memory 160. The interface device 156 may further be configured to transmit the image file to the ticket printing device 34, 84.

The database manager 152 may further be configured to select a plurality of advertisements to be retrieved from the database 126. The plurality of advertisements being selected may be based on at least a time period when the plurality of advertisements are to be printed and a specific ticket printing device 34, 84 where the plurality of advertisements are to be printed. The processing device 150 may be configured to bundle the plurality of advertisements into an ad bundle and the interface device 156 may transmit the ad bundle to the specific ticket printing device 34, 84, preferably before the time period when the ads are to be printed. The respective ticket printing device 34, 84 can then store the ads locally and print them with the ticket information.

The database manager 152 may use any suitable ad selection algorithm for selecting the ads. For example, the advertisements may be selected based on a cost to run the advertisement (i.e., Cost per Ad in the table of FIG. 6), where a first advertisement having a higher cost to run is selected before a second advertisement having a lower cost. The ad selection algorithm may also be based on which advertiser was the first to order or create an advertisement strategy, or may be based on an advertiser requesting to print a larger quantity (i.e., higher Quantity in the table of FIG. 6). The ad selection algorithm may also be based on a calculation related to how near an End Date and End Time parameters and/or the Number of Ads Left to be Printed parameter. The database manager 152 may also be configured to calculate whether or not an accurate prediction can be made as to whether a busy or overbooked advertising time will be able to handle a certain volume of advertisements for a plurality of advertisers and determine alternate times when these advertisements may be printed instead, in order to provide relief for the busy or overbooked time.

The advertisement distribution device 128 may be configured to select and distribute ads to spread them out at different times to maximize printing. For example, if a first advertiser requests to have 1000 ads printed between 2 pm and 8 pm and a second advertiser requests to have 1000 ads printed between 2 pm and 4 pm, the database manager 152 may use certain logical algorithms to select the second advertisers ads first and wait until 4 pm to start printing the first advertiser's ads.

The security/identification module 162 is configured to check to make sure that ads include the proper identification information and security codes. This check is performed when ads are retrieved from the database, but before ads are distributed to the printing devices.

It is desirable to receive confirmation that the advertisements are printed as planned. The print confirmation device 130 shown in FIG. 4 is configured to verify that the printing has actually occurred.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the print confirmation device 130 shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the print confirmation device 130 includes a processing device 170, a database manager 172, a print tracking/verification module 174, a first interface device 176, a second interface device 177, and a coupon redemption tracking module 178. According to various embodiments, the coupon redemption tracking module 178 may be omitted or incorporated in a separate device. Particularly, the coupon redemption tracking module 178 provides functionality for tracking information about the redemption of coupons and may be separate from the functionality of tracking the printing of the advertisements.

In some embodiments, the print confirmation device 130 (or parts thereof) may be incorporated into the advertisement distribution device 128 described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 7. The processing device 170 may be configured as one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers for controlling the operations of the print confirmation device 130. In embodiments where the print confirmation device 130 is combined with the advertisement distribution device 128, the devices may share a single processing device.

The print tracking/verification module 174 is configured to receive a confirmation from the ticket printing device 34, 84 when an advertisement is printed. This information may be communicated during times that are not busy, such as during the night or when the store that houses the printing device is closed. It may be preferable that the print tracking/verification module 174 receives time and location information regarding the printing of multiple advertisements during a certain time period. The print confirmation information may be communicated in bulk form, including the times when each advertisement is printed for a plurality of advertisements. The information is received via the first interface device 176 and may be transmitted directly from the printing devices 34, 84 or may be forwarded from the ticket managing server 32, 102. The print tracking/verification module 174 is further configured to determine a number of times that the advertisement is to be printed, which may involve accessing and updating the database 126 via the database manager 172.

The print tracking/verification module 174 also includes verification functionality to check whether the time and location information of advertisement printing matches the proper printing devices. This can be done using the security codes incorporated in the advertisement strategies, based on identification of device addresses, etc. Also, when the statistics for the printing of advertisements is accumulated, the print tracking/verification module 174 can communicate with the financial management device 132 (FIG. 4), which may then be able to determine the costs that the advertisers will be billed for running the ads.

From information gathered by the print tracking/verification module 174, the database manager 172 can update the records in the database 126. Also, the database manager 172 may be configured to store records of the times when each ad was printed and the locations where each ad was printed.

The second interface device 177 may be configured to communicate with the user devices 42 via the network 44. In this respect, the user devices 42 may be associated with a business at a particular business location. The second interface device 177 may receive input from the business of information that relates to a coupon from an advertisement being redeemed. For example, if the ticket is printed with a QR code or barcode, a person at the business may scan the code and send that code to the processing device 170 via the second interface device 177 to communicate that the coupon was redeemed. The processing device 170 forwards this information to the coupon redemption tracking module 178 to process the input from the businesses. The input may also be received in other forms, such as from entered data in a terminal related to the user device 42. The coupon redemption tracking module 178 may be configured to match the redemption information with the advertisement information. The coupon redemption tracking module 178 may process the statistics to determine the success of ads. It can also verify that an ad was printed when and where it was intended to be printed.

According to some implementations, an advertisement managing system may comprise the advertisement distribution device 128, which is configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from the database 126. The advertisement is selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run. The advertisement distribution device 128 is further configured to retrieve the selected advertisement from the database 126 and transmit the advertisement to a specific ticket printing device 34, 84. The system may also comprise the print confirmation device 130, which is configured to receive a confirmation from the ticket printing device 34, 84 when the advertisement is printed.

The system may also comprise the financial management device 132, which may be configured to charge a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement when the advertisement is printed. When confirmation is made that a certain advertisement has been printed a certain number of times, the financial management device 132 may provide a bill to the advertiser based on the number of ads printed and the Cost per Ad. In addition to the bill, information regarding the times when the advertisements were printed and the locations where the advertisements were printed may also be provided to the advertisers.

The present disclosure also provides a method of distributing an advertisement. The method according to some implementations may comprise the steps of retrieving an advertisement strategy from a database, wherein the advertisement strategy includes at least an advertisement, a run time parameter indicating a time period when the advertisement is to be run, and a location parameter indicating at least a first remote device where the advertisement is to be run. The method also includes transmitting the advertisement strategy to the first remote device with instructions to run the advertisement during the time period. Furthermore, the method may also comprise the step of receiving a confirmation from the first remote device that the advertisement was revealed during the time period. The step of receiving the confirmation may further include receiving time and date information from the first remote device indicating each time and date that the advertisement was revealed.

It should be understood that the routines, steps, processes, or operations described herein may represent any module or code sequence that can be implemented in software or firmware. In this regard, these modules and code sequences can include commands or instructions for executing the specific logical routines, steps, processes, or operations within physical components. It should further be understood that two or more of the routines, steps, processes, and/or operations described herein may be executed substantially simultaneously or in a different order than explicitly described, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

The implementations described herein represent a number of possible implementations and examples and are not intended to necessarily limit the present disclosure to any specific implementations. Instead, various modifications can be made to these implementations as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Any such modifications are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and protected by the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. An advertisement distribution device comprising: a database manager configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from a database, the advertisement being selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run; and an interface device configured to transmit the advertisement to a ticket printing device.
 2. The advertisement distribution device of claim 1, wherein the interface device is configured to transmit the advertisement to a server that is configured to further transmit the advertisement to the ticket printing device via a private network.
 3. The advertisement distribution device of claim 1, wherein the interface device is further configured to receive ticket information, the ticket information related to information to be printed on a ticket.
 4. The advertisement distribution device of claim 3, wherein the ticket information and advertisement are to be printed on a single ticket.
 5. The advertisement distribution device of claim 4, wherein the single ticket is a lottery ticket.
 6. The advertisement distribution device of claim 4, further comprising an image combiner for combining the ticket information and advertisement into a single image and storing the single image in an image file, wherein the interface device is further configured to transmit the image file to the ticket printing device.
 7. The advertisement distribution device of claim 3, wherein the advertisement distribution device is part of a system associated with a lottery server.
 8. The advertisement distribution device of claim 1, wherein the database manager is further configured to select a plurality of advertisements to be retrieved from the database, the plurality of advertisements being selected based on at least a time period when the plurality of advertisements are to be printed and a specific ticket printing device where the plurality of advertisements are to be printed.
 9. The advertisement distribution device of claim 8, further comprising a processing device configured to bundle the plurality of advertisements into an ad bundle, wherein the interface device is further configured to transmit the ad bundle to the specific ticket printing device.
 10. The advertisement distribution device of claim 9, wherein the interface device is configured to transmit the ad bundle to the specific ticket printing device before the time period.
 11. The advertisement distribution device of claim 1, wherein the advertisement being selected is based on a cost to run the advertisement, and wherein a first advertisement having a higher cost to run is selected before a second advertisement having a lower cost.
 12. The advertisement distribution device of claim 1, further comprising a print tracking module configured to receive a confirmation from the ticket printing device when the advertisement is printed.
 13. The advertisement distribution device of claim 12, wherein the print tracking module is further configured to receive statistics about a number of times that the advertisement is printed.
 14. A system comprising: an advertisement distribution device configured to select an advertisement to be retrieved from a database, the advertisement being selected based on at least a time when the advertisement is to be run, the advertisement distribution device further configured to retrieve the selected advertisement from the database and transmit the advertisement to a ticket printing device; and a print verification device configured to receive a confirmation from the ticket printing device when the advertisement is printed.
 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a financial management device configured to charge a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement when the advertisement is printed.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the ticket printing device is a lottery ticket printing device.
 17. A method of distributing an advertisement, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving an advertisement strategy from a database, the advertisement strategy including at least an advertisement, a run time parameter indicating a time period when the advertisement is to be run, and a location parameter indicating at least a first remote device where the advertisement is to be run; and transmitting the advertisement strategy to the first remote device with instructions to run the advertisement during the time period.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of receiving a confirmation from the first remote device that the advertisement was revealed during the time period.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of receiving the confirmation further includes receiving time and date information from the first remote device indicating each time and date that the advertisement was revealed.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the first remote device is a ticket printing device.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein the time period includes day and hour parameters. 